“For insurance purposes … ” he began, before telling me the bird should be insured for $1,000 to $1,500.

Lambert said he’d sold a handful of similar eagles – mine dates to the 1890s and has a 48-inch wingspan – at his auction house. He said my bird would likely fetch $500 to $1,000 at auction.

Not bad, but not enough to allow me to quit my day job.

The appraisal fair – proceeds of which benefit the Mebane Historical Society and Museum – drew a good crowd. Volunteers told me Saturday was the second year for the fair and said there’d been a good turnout on both occasions.

My eagle has an interesting history. In the 1890s the bird was mounted atop a wind vane on a bank in downtown Burlington. There it remained until the 1930s when a strong wind blew through town and knocked it loose.

The eagle apparently wasn’t much of a flier, crashing to the sidewalk a few stories below. The tumble messed him up. Someone carried him to Levin Brothers in Glen Raven, where he was sold for scrap metal.

That would have been the end of the eagle had it not been for my great-uncle, Rob Huffman, who was a friend to someone at the scrap yard. Rob got a call telling him they had something he might be interested in. Rob drove to Glen Raven and bought the bird.

He did some welding and painting (note to individuals interested in preserving the value of antique items, don’t paint them). The eagle has been in the family ever since, though Rob died about 15 years ago.

It’s a long story, but my wife and I eventually became owners of the property outside Elon where Rob and his wife, Myrtle, lived. The eagle came with the place.

I always figured the eagle was worth a few dollars. I’m a fan of old stuff, the things most people refer to as “junk.”

I’d gone online trying to research my eagle. I’ve never found one exactly like it. I’d found a few others that were a little older advertised for as much as $8,000.

I’d been hoping my bird might be worth as much, though I figured its value was more in the line of what Lambert told me. He said he’d seen eagles that dated to the 1840s sell for as much as $25,000.

“They’re a part of ‘Americana,’ ” Lambert said, whatever that means.

Maybe in 50 more years my eagle will be worth $25,000. I hope I’m around to see it.

Steve Huffman is a staff writer for the Times-News. Contact him at: shuffman@thetimesnews.com.